Nightingale | An Avengers Tale

Flashback

The Winter Soldier continued to slowly lead the small girl to safety. While her rapid fire questions had slowed, her pace had not increased; in fact, it had almost seemed to decrease. She was now dragging her feet and making a point to kick every pebble, leaf, and stick that came close to her path.

"Do we have to go back?" She finally sighed as she dug her heals into the ground, effectively stopping their trek.

"It's my mission." He calmly responded.

"Let's go on a new mission. This one's boring." She stubbornly responded as she sat down on the rocky ground. "Let's go play with puppies or something." She whined as she slowly began to drag her fingers through the dirt. She bit her lip as she concentrated on perfecting her drawing.

The Winter Soldier shook his head as he frustratedly stared down at her. None of his missions had ever prepared him for this particular situation.

"Are you taking me to jail?" She continued to pester as she focused on the ground.

"No."

"I did something really bad." Her breath caught as her bottom lip began to quiver. "I killed my friends."

"They were your mission." He softly said as he knelt down to sit by her. Was he supposed to comfort her? She should be proud for successfully committing her mission; she was significantly younger than the average Hydra agent after all.

The little girl began to tremble as she leaned into his metal arm. "Mr. Bucky." She softly began. "I really didn't mean to do it." She tightened her grip around his metal arm as she began to cry.  "Were they bad people?" She softly asked.

The Winter Soldier remained quiet upon her question. This wasn't part of his training. None of this was part of his training. He didn't work with children; he didn't save people. Why was she different then all the rest?

"Mr. Garrett told me you were a bad man." Lily softly whispered. "Miss Mary told me that you were friends with Captain America." She paused. "Mr. Garrett says the S.H.I.E.L.D. is bad, but Captain America wasn't a bad person." Her voice grew quieter. "I don't think you're a bad person Mr. Bucky."

"Who's Bucky?" He emotionlessly questioned. She had called him that twice now.

Lily froze and stared up at him; a mix of confusion and worry flooded her face. "That machine makes you forget." She forced a brave smile. "But it's ok. I'll remember who you are for you. We can be a team."

"A team?" He slowly repeated. The concept sounded foreign and yet familiar at the same time. "You're trying to confuse me."

"No." Lily's face crinkled as she continued to observe him. "Not anymore. Mr. Garrett wanted me to tell him all about what you remembered, but I don't want to. You're my friend, and tattling isn't nice." She paused. "I'm not a tattletale." She boisterously exclaimed as she jumped to her feet.

The Winter Solider rose to his feet as he began to follow her. Surprisingly, she seemed to know the way. He glanced up at the sky again. It was definitely getting dark fast; when the sun set behind the mountains they would be stuck until morning. He swiftly lengthened his stride as he picked up the little girl and set her on his shoulders. At least this way she wouldn't be able to dawdle.

"I can walk." She saucily replied.

The Winter Solider grunted in response.

"I'm actually quite good at it." She continued. "I have two legs after all."

"So do I." The Winter Solider gruffly responded.

"Are we going to be eaten by a bear?" Her voice grew higher as she began to shift around.

The Winter Soldier instinctively reached up to steady her balance. "No bears." He flatly said.

"Do you think there's any horses?" She asked as she leaned forward to rest her hands on her head.

"No."

"Oh." She let out a sigh. "I like horses." She sadly replied. "My uncle used to turn into a horse so I could ride him. It was so much fun." Her voice trailed off as she drifted off into thoughts of what had been.

The Winter Soldier continued hiking. The little girl had grown her quiet and her breathing had steadied. He suspected she had finally fallen asleep.

They shouldn't be too far away from where the jets were waiting. He secretly hoped they would just let her sleep and not require her to give a mission report. From her earlier reaction, he didn't think they would be very happy with her. They hated it when he showed any sign of emotion; he couldn't imagine they would be any different with Kobik.

When they reached the clearing, the agent who had been with Kobik quickly took her from him. He gently carried the little girl to the jet. The Winter Soldier nodded. They were letting her sleep; they must be going easy on her for some reason. He wordlessly followed them aboard the jet where he noiselessly slid back into his seat.

He leaned back as the jet rose. He glanced forward to the cockpit to see Garrett and Rumlow engaged in a quiet conversation. His gaze darted over to see the other agent was too focused on Kobik to pay attention to their conversation.

"He seriously claims that they managed to find them and take her?" Rumlow huffed as he glanced back at the other agent.

"I'm planning on having a long conversation with a certain little lady when she wakes up." Garrett laughed. "I must say I am glad to see that her aim has improved." He shook his head. "Pierce believes she has promise in the future of Hydra."

"Pierce?" Rumlow questioned. "He's aware that you've been training her?"

"He wasn't too happy at first. But given how easily she took out two trained agents, I think he'll be much more receptive to my point of view." Garrett smirked. "No one will look at her twice. Not even the Director."

"Do you think she'll be ready?" Rumlow questioned. "We all saw how she reacted this time."

"Pierce is bringing in an Agent to work with her." He paused. "She's a smart little thing; I think with the right training she'll be able to accomplish what will be required of her." Garrett shrugged. "Besides, if she isn't fit for the field, Pierce believes she could prove to be an asset in other ways."

"Other ways?" Rumlow leaned forward as his interest was evidently piqued.

"Something about her DNA." Garrett shrugged. "I didn't really understand the mumble jumble, but there's something different about her genetics." His voice grew even quieter as he leaned forward to whisper, "Something that isn't quite human."